A Sunset in a Sky on Fire

Last night’s Person of Interest was excellent, yet again. And I have a theory that I want to be made public, so when it comes about you can say you heard it here first. First though, I am copying my review that I wrote on my work site. Excuse me for such a quick sounding review, but when I get on in the morning, I have to get it written and out. People are depending on me don’t ya’ know. You can skip over the review and just go to the end to find out my theory. Oh, and there are spoilers in here too, so don’t read on if you haven’t seen it.

Well, we finally seen some of the Vigilance back story we’ve been waiting for. A blatant disregard of the human condition with unlimited power would drive many to the terror Peter Collier inflicts on those he calls his enemy. The price of freedom is not worth the rights that are lost to the individual. In a society where terror forced the hand of those in control to little by little ensure safety by taking a bit of freedom here and a bit of freedom there, has made the man Peter Collier. I always believe that we should hold ourselves to a responsibility for our own bad actions and stop blaming the government, our parents, those bullies, whomever, and Collier has taken that responsibility and taken a very strong action. An action of revolution. This episode has made me rethink whose behavior are we responsible for, how far should our actions take us? Should those of the American Revolution just been more tolerant of the actions of the British? I very much enjoyed last nights episode and the thoughts it brings, but back to the main plot points of the show…

Vigilance, as I predicted, was instrumental in the last few episodes, but not in the way I had seen. They don’t have the idea just to take down the surveillance systems, but to take out those responsible and put them to trial. Also, as suspected, there is someone behind the face of Vigilance, financing, perhaps brainwashing those minions so willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause… Were those of the Revolution just as dedicated? Have we got to the point where nothing really should matter that much to the point of sacrificing ourselves? Perhaps this is the message of Vigilance, that there is and will always be causes that are worth our lives. We have just given ourselves over to the McDonald’s culture so much, we forget there are things worth dying for. Our comfort is what is most important, we believe, and there are others who will fight for it.

Hersh, or should I say George is back as well. The ever vigilant protector of Control, he swoops in but too late. Reese and Shaw reluctantly join forces with him for comedic effect during this episode. The argument over who gets to drive is classic. Hersh, although blinded by Control and the power she has to protect the country, knows his place in this play and that it is right to team up with them for the common goal of rescuing the “good” guys.

And Root is the hero of the show now. She has her own little minions, wanting to go where she goes, please her with keeping on deadlines. They looked like sad little puppies when she tried to send them away. How much you want to bet they’ll follow her into the Samaritan’s lair? She is the only one that has any right to confidence, for she is the voice of the higher power. But did she or did she not know that the third number is Greers, holding Shaw and Reese back from rescuing Finch in order to complete the Machine’s tasks?

At this point we are unsure whether anyone really has any control of any situation. Who is controlling Vigilance? My wife just throws it out there that it is the Machine or Finch. How else would they know Collier left that meeting at just that time and in the state of mind he was in. I have my doubts…

Then there is the conversation between Greer and Finch. I just thought about what Greer might mean, and the Scottish origin of the name is “watchful or vigilant”… Hmmm… very interesting. That name is not just a coincidence. Anyway, there is a very poignant moment when Greer tells of his time in England during the War and the bombing and blackouts. He remembers a time that they were running for the tubes a little late and saw the sunset. But he found out that it was just the sky on fire. All that beauty was just an illusion, much like our freedom or the fact that we are in control. He reveals to Finch that his goal is to make sure that Samaritan is up and running before he can assuredly eliminate Finch. He wants to see the birth of this intelligence, watch it take shape and make decisions that aren’t effected by emotion. He mocks Finch as a father crippling his child, but Finch is aware of the danger of trying to control something as powerful as an omniscient computer. How does Greer think he’ll control Samaritan? And Greer answers why would he ever want to control the thing…

Now, onto my theory: You can see from above that I figured out Greer means watchful or vigilant and that I think the name is not coincidental. I have surmised over this season that Greer has always worked for the Chinese. Collier received a text last night after leaving the meeting with the callous government worker regarding the suicide of his brother. His anger was complete and just above the surface. If he would have fallen into a vat of toxic waste he would have become a super-villain, but this is real life, and someone knew the torture he was going through in a surveillance culture of the government’s creation, and contacted him at just the right time. It has been obvious that Vigilance has a lot of money, and perhaps like Decima, they have a program where if you are not caught, but die in their service, your family gets a huge bonus check. So, my theory is this: that Vigilance is funded by Decima. There may be some die hard revolutionists in the group, but I believe most of the men are Decima. I’ve always wondered how Vigilance’s men could die so easily for cold and callous Collier. It seems that any call for revolution is really just a bunch of people who want to camp outside of banks and smoke pot and just create a nuisance of themselves. These people are for the cause, but what if the cause we think they are dying for is actually the cause of anarchy, which is what Greer seemed to be indicating to Finch in regards to not want to control the Machine. The Chinese want America’s economy to crumble as their’s is built less and less on ours and in fact is actually surpassing the US. Look at the current relevant news headlines regarding Stephen Hawking afraid of an AI, and China’s economy surpassing that of the US’s. POI is relevant to our world’s fears. Collier probably doesn’t know that he is actually working for Greer or ultimately, the Chinese. And whatever chaos the US is thrown into because of the revolution or Samaritan going online, is a win/win for the Chinese, at least for the moment.